With all the focus on high-tech solutions and new sustainable architecture, we would like to take the time to recognize the day-in and day-out occupants of our built environment. Their behavior is a key ingredient to helping organizations reach sustainability goals. In typical commercial buildings, occupants are responsible for 50 to 75 percent of energy consumed through their use of lighting, equipment, and HVAC. How can you harness the power of the crowd in your buildings? Try some of these strategies:

Post employee manuals and similar materials online rather than distributing paper copies.

Host in-office education sessions on how to engage in sustainable behaviors in the office.

Create joint-purchasing programs with other tenants in the building to buy supplies in bulk.

Encourage employee exchanges by setting up informal lending libraries for items such as books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs. Or, set up days for people to bring in items to swap; anything not taken at the end of the day could be given to charity.

Offer incentives for employee engagement in sustainable behaviors.

Support a casual dress code to allow comfort and greater temperature variation (wear boots in the winter and short-sleeves in the summer).

Encourage the use of stairs over elevators.

Provide clear signage on what should be recycled/composted/ thrown away.

Adopt health and wellness initiatives.

Transportation

Provide bike share or car share options.

Provide bike racks and showers.

Provide rideshare information or carpool boards.

Subsidize transit.

Provide carpool/vanpool/energy-efficient car parking.

Offer flexible work arrangements or compressed work weeks to reduce peak-time commuting.

Travel Reduction

Provide teleconferencing capabilities.

Use web meetings through mediums such as Live Meeting, Office Communicator, SharePoint, and TelePresence.

Travel only if essential for business purposes.

Opt for rail over air.

Select environmentally preferred hotels.

Rent a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Use online conferences; limit conference attendance and have employees report back to the rest of the organization.

Single Occupancy Vehicle or Fleet Vehicle Protocols

Consider a partial- or zero-emissions vehicle.

Use a small car for commuting.

Tune up.

Fill air in tires.

Combine trips when possible.

Green Protocols to Consider as Part of Building Operations

Whether a facility is owned or leased, the size of a facility, the length of lease, and other factors determine the level of control a company has over the operation of a building it occupies. That said, consider the following as a checklist for affecting operations at the building or floor level:

Energy

Turn off the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system when employees are not working in space, i.e., from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. every day and on weekends.

Use programmable thermostats.

Install meters or submeters to track energy and water use.

Clean HVAC filters regularly.

Use high-efficiency hand dryers instead of paper towels.

In buildings with operable windows, ensure all windows (and storm windows, if applicable) are closed tightly.

The Final Report from the CRE&FM Futures Forum, put out last year by Zurich Insurance

Group, identified several trends likely to affect the nature of work and the workplace of the future:

The workplace will continue a transition to being a social hub that is the physical manifestation of desired cultural and brand values, as well as a place of production.

"The office" will remain the primary place to develop and maintain collaborative relationships, but such offices will increasingly be used for meetings rather than as a collection of workspaces for individuals.

Knowledge-based businesses will be the ones that provide the autonomy and the enabling tools for workers to decide when, how and where their work is accomplished collectively and individually, on and off company premises.

Rather than the legacy approach to space based on role or function, businesses will increasingly consolidate workplace concepts around activities-based and or competencies-based work models.

Sustainability has become an integral component of a commercial property's business plan, contributing to top-line growth, a strengthened reputation, cost control and less exposure to risk by enhancing regulatory compliance.
One thing is for certain, embracing the concept requires a wide-ranging, yet focused, plan of action. Here are six keys for putting an effective sustainability plan in place:

Analyze waste streams — often this means working with material management companies that track material volumes and perform audits of the waste content to identify reduction opportunities.

Set clear goals — waste reduction goals are set at the corporate level to communicate intentions, build accountability and inspire action. One goal may be to reduce waste by a certain percentage (e.g., reduce landfill waste by 20%).

Start with reduction and reuse — many achieve this by updating policies to minimize the volume of disposable material entering their properties and engaging tenants to reduce material consumption.

Maximize recycling — for materials that can't be eliminated or reused, look next at recycling. Everything from paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum and electronics can be recycled. Donation banks can find a new life for used furniture and durable goods. Food waste can be composted or used to make alternative fuels.

Continue down the sustainability path — as initial programs take hold, look to become even more innovative by building on what's in place, leveraging success and embracing new approaches and technologies.

Involve people — engagement is an essential part of waste minimization. An effective recycling program is designed for ease, understanding and convenience — with participation integrated into training, and reinforced by clear performance feedback.

Sustainability for the long haul.

Sustainability can be a catalyst that transforms their properties for many years to come. Those that set a goal of "Strategic Sustainability" and commit to achieving it can become a cleaner, greener property … and a stronger one, as well. Far from being the "flavor of the day," establishing a fully sustainable approach will become a lasting foundation to build upon.

A cleaner, brighter future.

As the number of commercial properties embracing sustainability continues to grow, expect more new initiatives and ideas to be launched. If the pattern holds, we will soon be entering an exponential growth phase of sustainability proponents, with many commercial properties achieving long-term visions of zero waste in ways that are both innovative and customized for their particular location.